1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to power management in data processing systems and other electrically powered devices and in particular to power management keyed to a user activities. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to calendar-based power management allowing automatic power management to conform to a user""s scheduled activities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current power management schemes employed in mobile or desktop data processing systems, personal digital assistants (PDAs) or handheld organizers, xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d phones, or the like are typically keyed to one of the following:
inactivity based, usually with respect to the keyboard, the mouse, network, or disk activity;
power mode based, usually with respect to whether battery or AC power is employed; and
xe2x80x9clocationxe2x80x9d based, usually with respect to whether the device is docked or undocked.
The principle problem with such power management criteria is the failure to accommodate a user""s schedule of activities. For example, if a system is configured to employ a power management scheme based only on power source (AC versus battery) while the machine is running on battery, and the user goes to a long meeting, upon returning he may find a discharged battery. Employing an activity-based power management scheme in conjunction with the power-mode based scheme to cause the system to enter xe2x80x9csleepxe2x80x9d mode after a specified period of inactivity may prevent battery discharge under the circumstances described above. However, this may also cause the system to enter xe2x80x9csleepxe2x80x9d mode at other times when the user is working but merely does not utilized the system for the timeout period (e.g., while reading or reviewing paperwork).
As another example, if a machine is left running on AC power while a user goes on vacation, the machine may stay runningxe2x80x94and consuming powerxe2x80x94throughout the time the user is on vacation. Again, the addition of an activity-based timeout period might address the particular instance of the user being on vacation, but could carry over to other times when it would be undesirable for the system to power down merely because of a period of inactivity. The system is unable to distinguish between events or periods when the user might desire automatic shutdown from those in which automatic shutdown would be a nuisance.
It would be desirable, therefore, to enable power management systems to take into account a user""s schedule of activities in determining whether to enter a power management cycle.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide improved power management in data processing systems and other electrically powered devices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide power management keyed to a user""s activities in data processing systems and other electrically powered devices.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide calendar-based power management allowing automatic power management to conform to a user""s scheduled activities.
The foregoing objects are achieved as is now described. Upon creation of an event or activity entry within a calendar, the user is prompted to specify a power management mode to associate with the entry if the entry is not of a predefined type. Predefined entry types may be associated with default power management modes which the user may modify. When an event or activity entry associated with a non-null power management mode is reached, the calendar sends a power management event notification to the power manager, which responds appropriately. Thus, a user may specify that the system, if powered on, should automatically shut down for the duration of a planned vacation identified by an entry within the calendar. The system may thus distinguish between events during which the user is unavailable (e.g., on a business trip or at a remote meeting) from events during which the user is available but perhaps not actively using the system for a period. The calendar event power management modes complement and refine the preconfigured system power management schemes to take into account the user""s schedule of activities.
The above as well as additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.